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| tuesday january 11 5:03 PM |
"so what do you think? how does it look?"my mom asks me, doing a spin in her new white dress. "it's pretty, it suits you." i smile at how excited and happy she looked. "thank you, adam got it for me." she explains causing me to stare at myself in the mirror. everything is starting to become more serious, it's all becoming about him and her instead of me and her like it's always been. "don't worry, you look beautiful. liam and elaine will love your work and it will all turn out fine." she reassured me, placing her hands on my shoulders. she must have thought i was worried about it, i am but it wasn't what was on my mind. i smile and nod. "thanks mom"
"now, adam just got here and is down stairs with a surprise for you." she smiles widely. i put down my brush and look over at her. it was like she was actually glowing. i guess this art thing and the surprise has gotten to her. "come one" she turns around and begins to walk out of my room causing me to turn off the lights and follow her down stairs where adam was standing with a guy next to him. he looked young. maybe liam is just a younger guy.
"cindy, this is jake... adams son!" my mom exclaims making my mouth slightly fall open. "i thought it was liam, i was a little confused for a second." i laugh nervously due to how unexpected this was. "this is my daughter" my mom smiles again as she introduces me to jake. "i've heard so much about you and i saw your paintings. liam and elaine will love them" jake says taking me by surprise. this isn't exactly how i imagined this to go down. i hadn't pictured him to be as nice, i figured he'd be uninterested like any other teenage boy would be when it comes to meeting their dad's girlfriends, daughter.
i figured more attitude would be held in his tone but there wasn't. i liked it though, he seemed sincere and it made me less nervous and more at ease than i was when my mom had told me who it was.
"thank you" i smile generously. now that i look at him i should have realized he was adams son. he looks almost just like him. he had adams eyes and hair. "i figured i could come a little early with him before liam and elaine come over. you know, to give you two some time to get to know each other a little." adam explains with a smile, looking between jake and i. "why don't you guys go watch some tv. jake maybe you could even teach her how to play some football, she's into sports as well." adam suggests. "i already know how to play, but i don't mind playing..." i shrug making jake smile. "john taught her how when she was this tall" my mom brags, holding her hand up to about her hips to show how tall i was when my dad has taught me. her telling them that made me smile at how she brought my dad up in front of adam.
"come on, we can play in the back yard" i suggest, pointing my hand towards the direction of the back yard. i glance over at my mom and see a proud, warm smile show up on her face. probably since i actually feel like playing, i hadn't played since around when my father passed. "oh for real?" he asks, sounding surprised as he rushes to catch up to me. "put on your jackets!" adam and my mom say at the same time making both jake and i groan. we look at each other and let out a soft chuckle before spinning around and walking towards the coat rack and grabbing our coats.
"thank you" my mom thanks in satisfaction as she watches us run back to the back yard. as soon as we shut the door behind us the cold air hits us, making me glad they made us put on our jackets. i walk over to the small bin the held all of our sports stuff and pull out the football. i haven't touched it in forever. i'm actually surprised i'm doing it now.
"my dad talks about you all the time...him and your mom are always bringing you up any chance they can." he says, starting conversation as he walks further away to make some distance between us so we could throw the ball back and forth. "they love you" he chuckles, pulling his hands out of his pockets. his words made me smile. hearing him tell me that made me feel all warm and appreciated. "you should hear how much they talk about you...non stop. not that i hate it." i reassure him making him laugh. i throw the ball at him and watch as it soars through the air and lands in his hands, the perfect pass.
"someone's jealous." he says, obviously teasing me causing me laugh. "yeah right. like you said, they love me." i mimic his words. he throws the ball to me and i catch it. he had a hard throw. you could tell he's played for a while. "so who's john?" jake asks me curiously, making my smile that was on my face fall. i guess she didn't talk about him enough when she was around jake. "um, he's my dad" i say, trying to shake it off. i place my fingers on the laces and throw the ball. i look at his face as he watches the ball fly into his hands. his face fell the same way mine did. he probably realized.
"oh...i'm sorry." he says nervously. "it's fine, you didn't know" i smile falsely, trying to reassure him it was okay. "no i knew... it just didn't realize it. i forgot... i'm sorry." he apologizes again, holding the ball in his hands. "jake, it's fine."
"it won't happen again." he tells me making me laugh some as he throws the ball to me. we continue to throw the ball back and forth having conversation until something he says makes me freeze up.
"wait what?" i ask quickly to make sure i had heard it correctly. "i over heard them talking about moving in with each other soon about a week ago..." he repeats making my heart beat feel as if it had slowed down. "oh.." i say quietly. "that was my same reaction if i'm being honest.."
"they don't know i know yet." he adds quickly most likely making sure i wouldn't slip up and mention it. "wow... um i don't even know what to say to that." i laugh nervously, feeling completely speechless. "if it makes you fee-"
"cindy, theyre here!!" my mom shouts opening the sliding door before jake could finish his sentence. "yeah, of course... i'll be right there" i sigh holding the ball in my hands and walking back over to the tub to put it up. "smile" she tells me warmly. i give her a fake smile making her smile as well. "don't stress, adams already talking them up." she winks.
